The Game Show Forum
The Game Show Forum => The Big Board => Topic started by: Jeremy Nelson on June 03, 2024, 03:14:33 PM
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What game show themes sound the most like the musical eras in which they were around? Interested in hearing your thoughts, especially since most decades have at least two or three distinctive "sounds".
For me, Press Your Luck and Hot Streak both have plenty of that early 80s synth that make them products of their time. Pictionary has a lot of that late 90s TV theme piano riff that was in other themes like Will and Grace and Everybody Loves Raymond..
Interested in seeing what people come up with!
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I think that The Challengers had a theme more befitting the 1980s. (Split Second: Canadia Edition too.)
The New Price is Right and Family Feud's 1994 syndicated season brought the sax-ness and both are my favorite iterations of their respective themes.
Jeopardy did a great job adapting with the times in changing their theme every so often, though the Final Jeopardy that they settled on in 2008 does nothing for me.
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Believe it or not, I'm going to give the same answer for 60s/70s.....Each MG incarnation. The 60s version had a definite 60s sound, and the 70s had that disco-type feel to it. Jeopardy definitely had an 80s synthesizer-like theme to it.
In agreement with Travis on TNPiR for '90s.
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Concur on TPiR and Feud 94. They’re both a little dated now but if either show opted to use one of those themes, I think it could still fit.
I always thought Trivia Trap’s theme felt like breakdancing music.
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Match Game '7x is the theme I most associate with the decade personally. Even though it leaked out into the '80s a tiny bit because of the syndicated versions, the wah-wah guitar places it firmly in the earlier decade.
Not a decade per se, but honorable mention to Bullseye for the most disco-friendly theme song of the era.
The 1984 Jeopardy! theme might be one of the most synth-forward pieces of music for the time. People forget that the opening to that theme was loaded with a lot of random beeps and boops that give off a major "we're starting up THE COMPUTER" vibes in a time when personal computing was still incredibly novel
Given the sanitized wasteland that the '90s was in terms of game show aesthetics, I'd just nominate the entire Stone-Stanley library as that decade's representative in all of its MIDI wavetable glory.
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I'd just nominate the entire Stone-Stanley library as that decade's representative in all of its MIDI wavetable glory.
Can I add Debt to that?
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Technically Debt was Alan Ett and not the Stone-Stanley Sound Machine, but they're certainly birds of a feather.
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For my dough, the original Split Second theme had that early-1970s vibe. And although the show came along in the late 1970's, the original Card Sharks theme sounded like 1972-73.
Cordially,
Tammy
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Given the sanitized wasteland that the '90s was in terms of game show aesthetics, I'd just nominate the entire Stone-Stanley library as that decade's representative in all of its MIDI wavetable glory.
While certainly not as memorable as the TPIR or even LMAD prize cues, whoever did end up authoring all of those pieces must have made some decent cash. Even a tenner for each song adds up: four stunts, up to four more prize reads for stunt wins, six prizes in the end game plus you get the theme tune about a dozen times. Merv was right; compose your own theme songs and let the money accrue.
For as memorable as the Millionaire theme was, I would split my vote between Greed and Winning Lines as most evocative of the futurogoth sound-mark of 1999-2002.
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60s: I guess the TTTT '69 theme symbolizes that period more than anything for me. A lot of the other G-T themes from the decade could apply for early 60s.
70s: "Split Second" '72 seems, at least to me, like it could've been the prototype of upbeat and brassy "game show music". "Mindreaders" and "Make Me Laugh" could be quite representative of the later part of the decade, and the influence of disco.
80s: I think it'd be easier to name 80s themes that *didn't* sound 80s.
90s: Yes to the Stone-Stanley catalog, but also the later "Supermarket Sweep" theme----aside from Dave Koz's sax, it pretty much sounds like it was entirely done on a Kurzweil or Korg synth of the period.
While certainly not as memorable as the TPIR or even LMAD prize cues, whoever did end up authoring all of those pieces must have made some decent cash.
I seem to understand, at least through TVPMM (and the LOTHT package incident), that David Stanley himself penned the bulk of the S-S material.
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I still maintain that the intro to Quiz Kids Challenge is the most early-'90s thing that's ever early-'90sed (as well as a relic of an era when TV producers were utterly unconcerned with inducing seizures in viewers):
https://youtu.be/l3uonxv8qG8
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For some reason, I always thought the flute solo in the Break the Bank theme made it sound quintessentially 70s.
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A few that come to mind:
Mindreaders (previously mentioned), Love Experts (even though it's from an existing commercial release), Jeopardy '78 ("Frisco Disco"), Hollywood Squares ('79-80 theme) and Celebrity Charades all scream late '70s to me, what with them all being disco-sounding.
Dating Game (the closing they started using in mid'-72) makes me think of '60s swing. The original theme is very '60s Herb Alpert-like. I guess that was probably by design since a lot of his music was used as cues on the ABC version.
Will probably think of more later...
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Both themes to Starcade definitely radiate the "80s" vibe. A bunch come to mind for '90s, mostly sax-prominent pieces like WoF, Davidson TPiR, Feud '94 etc.
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Many game show themes, especially from the latter half of the 60s and on, were very similar in nature to some of the top tunes of the time.
For example, Bullseye's theme had a "Copacabana" vibe to it; Body Language had a Michael Jackson "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" vibe, and so on. There was even a thread devoted to these similarities with multiple examples several years back.
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A quintessentially game-show theme was used for the short-lived summer summer replacement series The Face is Familiar.
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I still maintain that the intro to Quiz Kids Challenge is the most early-'90s thing that's ever early-'90sed (as well as a relic of an era when TV producers were utterly unconcerned with inducing seizures in viewers):
Not specifically the theme, but was showing a younger colleague an episode of '93 Scrabble and he immediately said at the intro - "this is so 1990s". I couldn't argue. We did love throwing words on the screen back in the early 90s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BxxZLTKnv0
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Not specifically the theme, but was showing a younger colleague an episode of '93 Scrabble and he immediately said at the intro - "this is so 1990s". I couldn't argue. We did love throwing words on the screen back in the early 90s.
God, that chintzy-assed set tho.
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Many game show themes, especially from the latter half of the 60s and on, were very similar in nature to some of the top tunes of the time.
For example, Bullseye's theme had a "Copacabana" vibe to it; Body Language had a Michael Jackson "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" vibe, and so on. There was even a thread devoted to these similarities with multiple examples several years back.
This got me thinking a couple years back after seeing the Elvis biopic- the brassy Dah-Dah DAAAAAAH horns in the Family Feud theme seemed like a nod to Elvis’ Vegas show intros.
https://youtu.be/17KcZMVVjbA?si=vKQgtThQqjGeB44T
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Not specifically the theme, but was showing a younger colleague an episode of '93 Scrabble and he immediately said at the intro - "this is so 1990s". I couldn't argue. We did love throwing words on the screen back in the early 90s.
God, that chintzy-assed set tho.
I get the style they were going for (also very early 90s), but it felt like they really scaled the size of the set pieces down as compared to the original run. That could have been resolved visually with tighter camera shots. It felt like they tried to use the same camera blocking as the 80s version and it...emphasized the empty space and lack of visual interest.
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I get the style they were going for (also very early 90s), but it felt like they really scaled the size of the set pieces down as compared to the original run. That could have been resolved visually with tighter camera shots. It felt like they tried to use the same camera blocking as the 80s version and it...emphasized the empty space and lack of visual interest.
Like going from an NBC set to a GSN set?
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God, that chintzy-assed set tho.
If we'd never seen the original, tho...
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I get the style they were going for (also very early 90s), but it felt like they really scaled the size of the set pieces down as compared to the original run. That could have been resolved visually with tighter camera shots. It felt like they tried to use the same camera blocking as the 80s version and it...emphasized the empty space and lack of visual interest.
It was pretty obvious that Grundy's was producing that and Scattergories on an absolute shoestring. The Scattergories set looked like it was crammed in a broom closet what with all of those people and monitors and so forth on set. (Really the very concept of "We've got celebrities!....on tape." kinda set that mood.) The game is of course the thing, but the massively slashed jackpots were very noticeable. (Scrabble of course had only been gone for three years so those alterations were pretty fresh, but a jackpot starting at $3,000 divided between four people was just bad.)
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If we'd never seen the original, tho...
True, but the problem is, a lot of us had only three years before. :)
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I was never a big fan of the acres of blue bathroom tile personally. The rest of the set compensated with its cool moving parts.
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I was never a big fan of the acres or blue bathroom tile personally.
Dat flashing grout tho! :D
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Not specifically the theme, but was showing a younger colleague an episode of '93 Scrabble and he immediately said at the intro - "this is so 1990s". I couldn't argue. We did love throwing words on the screen back in the early 90s.
God, that chintzy-assed set tho.
I get the style they were going for (also very early 90s), but it felt like they really scaled the size of the set pieces down as compared to the original run. That could have been resolved visually with tighter camera shots. It felt like they tried to use the same camera blocking as the 80s version and it...emphasized the empty space and lack of visual interest.
I think you summed up what bugged me about the set. When I was younger I thought it was too Art Deco. Watching the episode posted, I realize the set is way too barren for that studio.
But when you’re 10 years old in 1993, you’re just happy to have more daytime game shows. :P
/At least the two shows’ themes slapped
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I know it’s just supposed to be one decade, but I think Whew! straddles the 1979/1980 line perfectly.
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/At least the two shows’ themes slapped
Meh.... I always found it funny that both shows themes sounded virtually identical, like they were both written and composed the same day (and probably were).
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/At least the two shows’ themes slapped
Meh.... I always found it funny that both shows themes sounded virtually identical, like they were both written and composed the same day (and probably were).
I’ll give you that. For years my brain did intertwine the breakdown of both themes. Would be nice to have them both in the clear for reference.
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I think you summed up what bugged me about the set. When I was younger I thought it was too Art Deco.
I have two reactions to this:
1) I'm kind of amazed that a '90s kid would know what "Art Deco" was.
2) I can't imagine the allergic reaction you had to the Match Game '98 aesthetics.
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The Art Deco observation came a few years later, as I got into architecture. :P It is one of my favorite styles though to this day.
I didn’t mind the first MG98 set, but that second one made my eyes hurt.
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Buzzr recently returning Split Second to their schedule reminded me of how its rockin', Van Halen-esque theme perfectly encapsulated the '80s.
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Buzzr recently returning Split Second to their schedule reminded me of how perfectly its rockin', Van Halen-esque theme perfectly encapsulated the '80s.
Facts. It would’ve made a great training montage for a mid-80s sports movie, all the way down to the ending “Dun. Dun…….Dun-Dun-DUN!” notes.
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Let me add three for the 70s, all from Score Productions: Big Showdown, Second Chance and Money Maze.
One might say they’re disco influenced, but that may come off as negative and I like them.
The theme for Garry Moore’s TTTT is nothing if not 60s, although other shows didn’t follow its lead.
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Dat flashing grout tho! :D
This made me laugh. I didn’t mind the 90s set other than the missing cube. With the (faux) wood and accents, it reminds me of the scene on the box to the deluxe Scrabble game. There’s less flashing light, but I think shows were shying away from that.
The theme, on the other hand, bleech.
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I'd have to throw Blackout in the mix for the 80's. Plenty of synth keyboards for sure...also wonder if the horns and/or drums were synth as well.
Also I'm of the opinion that Blackout is one of the most "game show-y" game show themes there is, regardless of time period. One of my absolute favorites.
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Body Language had a Michael Jackson "Wanna Be Startin Somethin" vibe
No, it's a definitely a Working Girl March vibe.
https://www.youtu.be/yWYFhuXTlOQ
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Why not both?
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Why not both?
On that note, I've always thought that the Classic Concentration theme sounded similar to "Second Time Around" by Shalimar. Interestingly enough, BL and CC shared the same composer, Paul Epstein.
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Why not both?
On that note, I've always thought that the Classic Concentration theme sounded similar to "Second Time Around" by Shalimar. Interestingly enough, BL and CC shared the same composer, Paul Epstein.
The Davidson Squares theme gives me "Dilemma" vibes.
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I'd have to throw Blackout in the mix for the 80's. Plenty of synth keyboards for sure...also wonder if the horns and/or drums were synth as well.
Also I'm of the opinion that Blackout is one of the most "game show-y" game show themes there is, regardless of time period. One of my absolute favorites.
While we're on the subject, it's worth pointing out that the Blackout theme "borrows" quite liberally from the instrumental portions of "Far From Over" by (...you guessed it...) Frank Stallone, which itself was used as the theme for at least one unsold Wolpert pilot:
https://youtu.be/mpQC6Do9sZI
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"We Have Far From Over At Home" also served as the theme to Wolpert's "Fast Friends" pilot, if memory serves.
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Why not both?
On that note, I've always thought that the Classic Concentration theme sounded similar to "Second Time Around" by Shalimar. Interestingly enough, BL and CC shared the same composer, Paul Epstein.
The Davidson Squares theme gives me "Dilemma" vibes.
This one caused a bit of a debate on ATGS back in the day. I remember checking the liner notes (get off my lawn) to see if they sampled Stormy Sachs, but didn’t see anything.
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Hot Potato may be a special case in that its main themes covered multiple 80's genres: electronica and late-era disco
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The Davidson Squares theme gives me "Dilemma" vibes.
This one caused a bit of a debate on ATGS back in the day. I remember checking the liner notes (get off my lawn) to see if they sampled Stormy Sachs, but didn’t see anything.
I usually have a good ear for things like that, but oddly, when Dilemma starting popping up on the radio I didn't make the connection. Ever since it was pointed out on this forum I make it a habit to change the station whenever Dilemma comes on - whenever I run the 86 Squares theme thru my head I don't want Dilemma's lyrics popping in!
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I got all the way to the end of this thread and was excited not to see Hot Potato mentioned, then i saw Joe Mello's post.
I missed it by THAT much.
Wheel of Fortune daytime 1975 theme definitely was a 70s type theme.
Dealer's Choice hosted in syndication by Jack Clark and Don Hastings had a very funkadelic 70's sound to it.
Same for The Savers from The Joker's Wild in 1972 and Gambit's theme song on CBS as well.
Classic Concentration's theme, very 80s (was also the contestant/ticket plug music for Body Language on CBS).
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I feel like both Pyramid and Jackpot are good examples of taking a very 70s theme and revamping it to make it very 80s.
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I’ve always said that the 80s Pyramid sounded to me like they took the sheet music from the 70s version and literally flipped it upside down.
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Make the Grade definitely had that late 80s/early 90s sound. And perhaps Guts did even more if we're including that.
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2) I can't imagine the allergic reaction you had to the Match Game '98 aesthetics.
Once I noticed that the Capital "I" looked like the number 1, I couldn't *unsee* it. I will forever see Vicki Lawrence's name plate as V1CK1.
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I’ve always said that the 80s Pyramid sounded to me like they took the sheet music from the 70s version and literally flipped it upside down.
I've always been curious why they did that.
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I’ve always said that the 80s Pyramid sounded to me like they took the sheet music from the 70s version and literally flipped it upside down.
I've always been curious why they did that.
Presumably, it was so Bob Cobert could claim it as an original composition--and collect royalties on it--without doing too much actual work.
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I’ve always said that the 80s Pyramid sounded to me like they took the sheet music from the 70s version and literally flipped it upside down.
I've always been curious why they did that.
Presumably, it was so Bob Cobert could claim it as an original composition--and collect royalties on it--without doing too much actual work.
There was at least one time on SNL where presumably a game show skit used the original $10,000 Pyramid theme. This would have been in the 80s or 90s.
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2) I can't imagine the allergic reaction you had to the Match Game '98 aesthetics.
Once I noticed that the Capital "I" looked like the number 1, I couldn't *unsee* it. I will forever see Vicki Lawrence's name plate as V1CK1.
Approves, kinda (http://hero.fandom.com/wiki/V.I.C.K.I.?file=V.I.C.K.I..jpg)